COVID-19 misinformation
Some of McCullough's public statements contributed to the spread of
COVID-19 misinformation.
[7][4]
McCullough testified before a committee of the
Texas Senate in March 2021, posted to
YouTube by the
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, in which he made false claims about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines, including that people under 50 years of age and survivors do not need the vaccine and that there is no evidence of
asymptomatic spread of COVID-19.
[27]
Posted on the Canadian online video sharing platform
Rumble, McCullough gave an interview in April 2021 to
The New American, the magazine of the right-wing
John Birch Society, in which he advanced
anti-vaccination messaging, including falsely claiming tens of thousands of fatalities attributed to the COVID-19 vaccines.
[46] In May 2021, McCullough gave an interview in which he made claims about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines which were "inaccurate, misleading and/or unsupported by evidence," including that survivors cannot be re-infected and so do not require vaccination and that the vaccines are dangerous.
[28]
In an interview on the
Fox News program
Tucker Carlson Tonight in May 2021, McCullough claimed that hydroxychloroquine is effective for treating COVID-19 despite there being no supporting evidence.
[28] McCullough later made appearances on
The Ingraham Angle. During television appearances, McCullough contradicted public health recommendations, including when asked about the aggressive spread of COVID-19 among children, by suggesting that healthy persons under 30 had no need for a vaccine,
[29][47] and when asked about the relative merits of vaccination-induced immunity versus "natural" (survivor) immunity, by disputing the necessity of vaccinations to achieve
herd immunity.
[24][48][49][4]
